Simple things
by helaluvE
Summary: Just a little one shot i write when i was in a very good mood. please read and reveiw. Nindy, Ephramy and slight Brannah.


Disclaimer: I don't own Everwood or its characters, I just use them to have some fun…

A/N: Heya guys! Hw have you been! I know, I know, it's been a while but you know… life! School is taking a lot of my time so I don't have much time to type.

This one shot was in my mind since June. You know how much I love family dinners; there is one in almost every one of my stories. Hope you like it. Please let me know what you think but more important ENJOY!.

_**Simple things.**_

It had been two days since Andy had proposed to Nina. As she opened her eyes on the third morning, she realised how quickly they had passed. People usually say it is a good sign; your life is so great that you do not seem to get enough time to enjoy it. She could not remember the last time she felt this happy. She was happy with Jake, there was no purpose in trying to deny it but now that she was engaged to Andy, she felt something different. Of course, she had reached the point of happiness, in fact, she passed that point the moment he slid that ring around her finger (which was odd considering what happened two days before his proposal) but right now, as she rose from the guest room's bed of Andy's house, she felt a new emotion. Something she had never felt before. She felt complete. As if a part of herself that was missing since forever had finally find her way back to its original place; her heart.

She was sleeping in the guest room because even if she was engaged to Andy, he understood without her having to explain it to him that it was too early to go beyond the kissing stage. They also had to take in consideration their children's feelings. It would be quite disturbing for them to see them sleeping in the same room, never mind the same bed.

She quickly took a shower, put on a pair of jeans and a light pink and silky shirt and headed downstairs, ready to make breakfast. To her utter surprise, she found Delia and Sam seating at the counter, eating cereals while Andy was at the cooking-range, making pancakes.

"'Morning sleepy head." He greeted her with a smile when he turned around.

"'Morning." She managed to say, still in shock. "Did I travelled time and space during my sleep? Am I in another dimension?" she asked with a chuckle putting a kiss on her son's head.

"Of course not, Mom!" Sam replied with a roll of his eyes as she huffed his hair.

"Then how come you're all up so early?" she asked getting closer to her fiancé.

"It's already 10:00." Delia pointed out simply before biting in an apple.

"No way!" Nina exclaimed, her eyes widening.

"Way!" Andy grinned. "You overslept. We didn't wake you because we knew a couple of hours couldn't hurt."

"I _never_ oversleep." She said emphasising the word never.

"Well, there's a first time for everything, sweetheart." He said with a shrug and she smiled sweetly when he called her 'sweetheart'. It was not the first time but she still had to get used to it. She loved the sound of it, though. He put two plates of pancakes on the counter, sat down in front of one of them and reached for the maple syrup. She sat down next to him and they looked at each other. She leaned over and kissed him softly.

"Gross!" Delia and Sam exclaimed at the same time and the grown ups pulled away smiling.

"To what do I owe this honour?" he asked breathlessly.

"Nothing." She replied turning back to her plate. They ate and made conversation, enjoying the beginning of what was going to be a beautiful and sunny day. It was not much different than when they were friends, it was just better. A pleasant feeling of quietness and hope grew in each of their hearts, knowing how strong this family was.

Delia had promised Sam to take him to the ferries wheel one last time before it was removed from before Ephram and Bright's building. They took their bikes after breakfast and left promising to be back soon and to be safe. Nina was clearing the table while Andy was reading the Pinecone, seating at the table.

"When was the last time we did something together." She asked putting the last plate in the dishwasher.

"About 5 minutes ago, if I recall correctly." He answered smirking. She shook her head, started up the machine and came to seat next to him.

"No, I didn't mean 'you and me'," she said gesturing between them. "I meant all of us." He raised an eyebrow and looked at her curiously, wondering if she had not lost her mind. "Ugh! Don't look at me like I'm crazy." She said annoyed. "I meant, you, me, the children and the Abbotts." She clarified and he thought about it. "When was the last time we gathered?" she insisted.

"Have we ever done that before?" he asked frowning.

"Exactly!" she said throwing her hands in the air in incredulity, making her point. "Well, I remember Edna's birthday three years ago, but we both agreed a long time ago that it was not that great." She said with a smirk and he nodded, the memory of that night still fresh in his mind. "Why are you thinking about it, anyway?" he asked clueless.

"Well, it's Sunday, we don't have anything planned and we have a lot to celebrate." She said grinning widely and holding up the hand where her engagements ring laid. He grinned as widely as she was and leaned over to put a quick and sweet peck on her full lips. He pulled away but stayed close; he narrowed his eyes and studied her deep blue eyes.

"What do you have in mind?" he asked whispering as if they were sharing an intimate secret.

"It's too late to organise a party but we could have dinner at Sam's… yeah it could be great! It's closed until next week and with the help of Rose and Edna, I think we can prepare something fancy. What do you think?" she asked excitedly.

"I think it's a brilliant idea… as long as I stay ten feet away from the kitchen." He answered and she laughed.

"Great!" she said jumping on her feet. She kissed him one more time before rushing to his office, grabbing the phone on her way. He shook his head amused as he watched her disappear through the kitchen door.

Twenty phone calls, three hours of cooking, 10 removed tables, two hours of getting ready and four rides to Sam's later, Nina, Andy, Delia and Sam were waiting in the restaurant waiting for their guests. Rose, Edna, Amy and Hannah had helped Nina with everything. Andy, as promised stayed away from all of it and from what Sam had told him, it was not such a bad thing. He loved Nina with all his heart but listen to them giggling and squealing every time Nina showed them the ring was beyond Andy's limits as a man. With a light chuckle, he wondered how Edna made it to the end of the afternoon. By 5:00 PM, they all went their separate ways to get ready before coming back. Nina decided to wear a brown silk strapless spaghetti dress that made Andy's heart drop in his chest. He was wearing black pants with a deep blue shirt that matched his eyes.

Ephram and Amy were the first ones to arrive. As he watched his son enter the restaurant, his arm around his girlfriend and smiling like never before, Andy remembered the conversation they had three days ago. He smiled, thinking that the picture was definitely going to look good. Amy was wearing a light green flannel dress, her hair was held up in a classy ponytail and she was smiling just as widely as Ephram. They all hugged, smiling at each other knowingly. Then the Abbotts, which means Rose, Harold, Edna, Hannah and baby Lilly, arrived. Everybody gathered around the baby, making funny noises and trying to make her laugh by tickling her. After a few minutes, Bright came in but nobody seemed to notice.

"Wassup!" he said making them turn around and as he expected it, they all rolled their eyes at him. He grinned and made his way toward them. He laid his eyes on Hannah for the first time and he felt his pulse quickening. She was wearing a knee length black dress, her hair was straight and she was wearing lenses. A goofy smiled appeared on his face. She smiled, taking his speechless, drooling and staring moment as a compliment.

"Hello Brighton!" she said softly and that make him smile even more.

"Hi!" he replied almost stupidly. "You look…wow!" was all he could manage to say.

"Why thank you." She said blushing a little now at his insistence; he was not willing to take his eyes off her yet. "Bright!" she scolded jokingly.

"Sorry…" he said averting his eyes eventually and she smiled sheepishly.

After a little while, they all parted in little groups and soon the sound of light-hearted conversations and laughs filled the rather large room. Delia had brought a stereo from home and put one of Andy's favourite CDs on, Otis Redding. _These arms of mine_ began to play. Andy and Nina instantly looked at each other and they smiled. They made their ways toward each other and he held his hand out to her.

"May I have this dance?" he asked with a soft smile.

"You may." She answered smiling brightly and took the hand he was offering her. He put his other hand on her waist and brought her as close to him as he could. She laid her head on his shoulder. Smiles plastered on both of their faces, they began to sway in rhythm with the soft music. The other couples imitated them, Delia, and Sam jumped on the occasion, taking as much pictures as they could.

Bright, Hannah and Edna were seating at the table, trying to make conversation and hardly succeeding. The ex couple was seating next to each other but was avoiding eye contact. They both wanted to dance but neither knew how to ask. Things were still awkward between them since that conversation on the hill. They had decided to be friends again but they were not there yet. Edna watched them, amused to contemplate once more how stupid young people could be. She stood up and walked over them, pretending to be interested in the drinks table that was just behind them. She reached for a coke and stood there, watching them closely and finally deciding to do something.

"What you're waiting for, Blondie?" she asked in her Edna way. "The next snow falls?" she added with as much sarcasm as she could manage. Bright turn his gaze to her with a clueless expression, while Hannah cheeks were turning a faint shade of red, knowing exactly what Edna meant. She averted her eyes from them but silently thanked Edna for interfering. "The song is almost over, aren't you gonna ask her to dance?" she asked gesturing toward what had become the dance floor. A look of understanding crossed his eyes eventually and he quickly got to his feet.

"Would you like to…" he said embarrassment obvious on his face and Hannah nodded, finding his shyness adorable. He held his hand out to her and she gladly took it. They warmly smiled at each other and headed toward the rest of the dancing couples. Edna laughed one more time before turning back to the drinks table. She remembered the last time she had danced with Irv on that song and she had to fight the tears that were threatening to fall.

Everybody was having such a good time that they all wished time had stopped. It was perfect. They formed the most unpredictable group of friends but somehow it felt like it was meant to be. The dinner was delicious and the conversation never died. Amy and Ephram showed pictures they had taken on the ferries wheel. Hannah announced that she was going to A&M. Delia had brought a copy of the bat mitzvah video tape to the Abbotts. Lilly had quickly fallen asleep, letting the grown ups have fun without worrying non-stop about her. Edna, Rose and Harold shared their first roomies stories that made Andy laugh to tears. Edna had agreed to come back working for the Brown-Abbotts family practice but she cut her hours a little. They began to make plans about Andy and Nina's wedding. Ideas were popping around, going from Rose's sweet and reasonable idea of organising a little ceremony to Bright's ludicrous ideas, one of them including a plane.

Around eleven o'clock Harold, Rose and Edna congratulated the happy couple one more time before leaving with sleeping Lilly. Hannah, Bright, Amy and Ephram decided to go for a walk to enjoy the warm summer night. Sam had fallen asleep on a couch and Delia was listening to her I-pod while reading a magazine. Nina and Andy looked at the mess around them and smiled at each other, simply content. They kissed for what seemed to be the millionth time that evening, never getting enough of each other.

"It was the best family dinner ever." He said with a genuine smile.

"Yeah, I know, I'm sensational!" she said shrugging and smirking. He grinned, enjoying every second spent with her.

"How about we leave the cleaning for tomorrow and we go back home?" he asked hopefully and proceeded on putting butterfly kisses on her cheeks. She pulled away slightly and looked at him lovingly. She leaned forward again and gave him a long passionate kiss that he happily returned. She pulled away, sighed with satisfaction and smiled cheekily.

"Let's get home." She said taking his hand.

A/N: I know, I know it's very fluffly perhaps even cheesy but I really wanted to write something light. If you want angst, just go check my Lost and Prison break stories lol. Please let me know what you think.

I'm writing chapter 8 of _Meant to be_ and it should be out soon, so stay tuned.


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